Competitive versus individualistic goal structures: The salience of past performance information for causal attributions and affect.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine children's cognitive-attributional and affective response patterns within competitive and individualistic goal structures. Performing within a competitive or individualized setting was expected to influence how children utilized past performance and immediate performance outcome cues. Eighty children first performed individually to establish a performance history of success or failure and subsequently succeeded or failed in a competitive or individualized setting. Findings showed that effort attributions covaried with outcome in the individualistic structure, whereas luck and outcome covaried in the competitive structure. Only in the individualistic structure was past performance a salient cue in determining positive or negative affective reactions. Through an attributional analysis, the results are contrasted with prior research that has equated individualistic and competitive goal structures.

Need satisfaction and the self-regulation of learning

“…Several recent accounts of motivation in education have used goals as a central concept (e.g., Ames & Ames 1981;Dweck 1986). Goals are essentially a cognitive representation of something a person wants to achieve, and the theories describe a dichotomy between different types of goals.…”

Achievement goals in the classroom: Students' learning strategies and motivation processes.

“…In addition, research from diverse perspectives has shown that student satisfaction or enjoyment of learning is greater when classroom environments are perceived as encouraging student involvement (Fry & Coe, 1980;Trickett & Moos, 1974) and a sense of personal responsibility (Ryan, 1982;Ryan & Grolnick, 1986) and when students themselves are committed to understanding and learning (Nicholls et al, 1985). Last, researchers who have addressed the situational specificity of attributions have consistently found that normative comparisons elicit attributional tendencies that are characteristic of maladaptive motivation patterns (e.g., Ames, 1984a;Ames & Ames, 1981).…”

Factors Associated with Disruptive Behaviour in the Classroom

“…A learning climate characterised by high levels of social comparison is likely to threaten the feeling of cognitive competence among pupils (Ames & Ames, 1981). The introduction of grades into the secondary school as an evaluation system in Norway may stimulate social comparison and reduce the general feeling of cognitive competence among pupils.…”

“…Studies (Ames & Ames, 1981) indicate that a learning climate characterised by competition increases the risk of pupils attributing failure to a lack of personal ability. Among pupils experiencing failure, this will probably reduce the belief in their own competence and motivation for schoolwork.…”

“…Moreover, the relatively poor cognitive competence among Year 9 pupils could have resulted from the introduction of grades as an evaluation system at the secondary school level in Norway. Grades may stimulate social comparison, which in turn may have a negative impact on the perceived competence of pupils (compare Ames & Ames, 1981).…”